The Creator lied to us
by demonic-koifish
Summary: The Ink Machine is the heart of Joey Drew Studios, with the power to bring Joey Drew's beloved cartoon characters to life. What Bendy doesn't know is that his creator is not the man he pretends to be...
1. Chapter 1

_In a small room, a large machine sat, clunking loudly. Ink splattered onto the ground from a large funnel attached to the front of it. Next to the machine, a man stood, watching the end of the funnel. The machine trembled, the drops of ink turning into a stream. The man's eyes fixated hungrily on the funnel; any moment now, and his dreams would come true. The gears on the Ink Machine's side screeched, and the machine gave a huge lurch…_

Bendy blinked, reaching to rub something from his eyes. Light shone from somewhere near him; a bulb hanging from the ceiling of an old wooden room. Bendy stretched his arms, flexing his gloved fingers experimentally. He felt like he'd just woken up from a long sleep; he felt groggy and tired. Bendy straightened up and looked down at his shoes, which sat in a large puddle of ink. He noticed that his gloves were also smeared with patches of the dark liquid. _Where'd all this ink come from?_ he wondered, slowly getting to his feet. As he stood, his head banged into something cool and hard.

"Ouch," Bendy muttered angrily, rubbing his horns and whirling around. A huge tube, dripping dark liquid on to the floor, stood behind him. Somewhere in the room, someone chuckled. Bendy jumped and turned to see a man watching him from the corner of the room. As soon as Bendy met his gaze, the man's eyes darkened and a smile spread on to his face. There was something about him that made Bendy slightly nervous.

"Heads up, Bendy," the man said. Bendy frowned at the man.

"How do you know my name?" he asked suspiciously. The man's smile widened.

"I _created_ you," he replied, excitement creeping in to his voice. He took slow and deliberate steps towards Bendy and stood completely still, drinking in the sight of him. "This is incredible," the man whispered, "Truly incredible."

"I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" Bendy asked. He put his hands on his hips. "And what do you mean, you _created_ me?"

"I'm Joey, head of Joey Drew Studios. You're a character I created from the cartoons my company works on," the man, Joey, introduced, leaning casually against the machine. Bendy nodded, glancing around the room. A poster hanging on the yellowing wooden wall caught his eye, and he turned back to Joey.

"What about Boris?" he asked, "And Alice?" Joey nodded.

"They're two of our most popular characters," he said. He grinned at Bendy. "You're the real star of the show, though." Bendy puffed out his chest a little. Suddenly, a glint of light on metal caught his eye, and he turned to see the large machine.

"What's this machine for?" Bendy asked. He bent down to peer up the pipe. It was dark and wet; ink still dripped from it. "That's an awful lot of ink."

"This is the Ink Machine," Joey said proudly, flicking a speck of dust off its surface. "It's how I brought you in to the real world." Bendy noticed a massive container on the back of the machine; the word 'INK' was written on a label attached to the Ink Machine. The ink must be what was powering it; he looked again at the dripping pipe, and the growing puddle of ink underneath it.

"Am I – am I _made_ of ink?" Bendy gasped. Joey's smile faded to a grimace.

"That's a kink I need to work out," he replied bitterly. The little devil looked down at his gloves, glistening with ink.

"I think it's kind of cool," he said, grinning. Joey made a small sigh of relief.

"Hang on," Bendy said thoughtfully. He looked back at the poster that he'd seen before. The face of a cartoon wolf gazed back. One hand waved cheerfully, the other clutched a shiny black clarinet. "You brought me to life, right?"

"Yeah?" Joey said slowly. He glanced to where Bendy was looking, and a look of realization and excitement crossed on to his face.

"Would it be possible to bring my friends to life, too?"

Joey grinned. "Of course," he said. He took his arm off the Ink Machine, walking around it to the container of ink. He stood there for a moment, staring into the ink, then glanced over his shoulder. "You wouldn't mind waiting outside, would you?" he asked quietly, "I need to do this…privately."

"No, of course not," Bendy replied, confused. He walked over to the door, resting his hand on the knob. He was just about to leave the room, when a soft murmur behind him made him stop.

"You and I are going to have fun tonight, Boris."

Bendy whirled around. Joey had ripped the poster of Boris off of the wall and was staring at it with a glint in his eye. His eyes narrowed, and a small smile crossed his face. "Sadly, your dear friend Bendy won't be joining us," he whispered.

"Uh…" Bendy said, staring uncomfortably at him. Joey jumped and turned around, his cheeks flushing red.

"Thought you had left," he mumbled, turning away quickly. Bendy watched him for a moment, then shrugged and walked out of the room.

"Close the door, please," Joey called after him. Bendy obeyed, and sat down on the floor outside, waiting. The glint in his creator's eyes had unsettled him; there was something about Joey that made him nervous. Soon, the clunking of the Ink Machine started up, shaking the door. A particularly loud thunk made him wince, and after a while, Joey opened the door. He was grinning from ear to ear. Bendy, sprang to his feet, looking up hopefully.

"Well?" he asked, "Did everything go well?"

"It was a success," Joey crowed, opening the door wider. Bendy peered past him. Standing in the room, overalls stained slightly with ink, was Boris, standing patiently in the middle of the room. With a cry of delight, Bendy rushed past Joey and wrapped his arms around Boris's waist in a hug. Boris jumped in surprise, then upon seeing who it was, grinned toothily.

"Hey, Bendy!" he cried, hugging back, "You doing good?"

"Sure am," Bendy replied. He stepped back, looking up at Boris. "Wow, it feels like ages since I saw you last!" he said. Boris nodded in agreement.

"You certainly haven't grown much, though," he added jokingly. Bendy glared at him.

"That's not funny, Boris, and you know it," he said indignantly. Boris laughed, and Bendy couldn't help but join in. Joey walked over to them and lay a hand on their shoulders.

"We all happy?" he asked, looking from one face to another.

"Uh, yeah," Bendy said, looking over at him. Again, he saw the glint in Joey's eyes, which brightened as he turned his gaze to Boris. He remembered Joey's earlier statement. _You and I are going to have fun tonight, Boris._ Bendy shook his head, trying to get the thought out of his head.

"Great," Joey said, a small smile appearing, "I need to show you guys something." He walked over to the door and stopped, looking over his shoulder at the cartoon duo.

"Come on," he said, beckoning. Bendy walked after him, Boris close behind.

Joey led them into a hall with the same old wooden walls. Bendy noticed that there were no windows; the only light came from a couple of lightbulbs, casting a yellowish light around the place. Joey stopped at a door and clutched the handle.

"Right in here," he said, swinging it open. Bendy walked inside, looking around. There was a desk against the wall and a few pipes along the wall that shaking slightly as a current of ink flowed through them. Joey opened the door wider as Boris walked in, then waited in the doorway.

"What did you want to show us?" Bendy asked.

"Just wait in here," Joey replied. He began to walk out of the room, then turned back around. "Just stay right here, okay?" His eyes flicked to Boris, and back to Bendy. The door began to close behind him, but just before it did, Joey's eyes darkened, and a slightly twisted smile curved his lips. Bendy watched the door shut, eyes narrowing.

"What's up with Joey?" Boris asked as soon as the door shut.

"I don't know," Bendy said, thinking. "Wonder what he wants to show us?"

"He strikes me as a little bit of a weirdo," Boris mused, folding his arms and leaning against the wall. Bendy laughed, shaking his head.

"Hey, he _made_ us," he said defensively, "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for him." _And that Ink Machine,_ he added silently.

Boris nodded and took his weight off the wall. He opened his mouth to reply, then stopped, jaw going slack. His eyes widened, seeing something – or someone – behind Bendy.

"What?" Bendy asked. He started to turn around, but then there was a loud _thunk._ Dull pain blossomed in the side of his head, and he fell to the ground with a soft thump. Boris cried out, but was cut short as another _thunk_ rang in the room. Bendy's eyes blurred, shadows creeping at the edges of his vision. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a black figure lying motionless on the ground. Bendy blinked slowly.

"Boris?" he whispered. But then he saw another figure; tall, clutching a wrench in its hand and standing over the unmoving wolf. The figure slowly turned its head in Bendy's direction. And then, the world went dark, and Bendy drifted into unconsciousness.

But not before he caught the soft glint in the figure's eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Bendy woke up in a dark room, lit only by a single candle. The workshop was deathly quiet, apart from a slight rustling in the room next door and the steady drip of ink onto the wooden floors. Dull, aching pain still throbbed in the side of Bendy's head. He put a hand to it and winced. Some memories flashed briefly before his eyes; Joey, watching him as he came to life; him leaving the room, closing the door slowly behind him; Boris's unconscious form, lying on the ground…

"Boris," Bendy muttered, "Where are you?" The little devil stood up and picked up the candle, holding it high above his horns to take a look around the room. Apart from a single chair next to the door and a couple of pipes in the ceiling, it was empty. He trotted over to the door, and pulled the handle. The door didn't move; it was locked. Bendy sighed with frustration.

"Well, this stinks," He said. He placed the candle on the floor besides him and sat down on the chair, resting his head on his hands. Bendy sat still for a while, tapping his foot absent-mindedly to an old tune he could just remember. The noise echoed slightly in the workshop, lifting the silence a little bit. But then, another sound joined Bendy's foot tapping; a soft noise on the wooden floor. He sprung to his feet. Was that…? Yes! Footsteps!

"Hello," he called, "Who's there?" There was no response, apart from the footsteps pausing for a moment, and then continuing. Bendy waited a moment, then knocked on the door. "Boris? Is that you?" he asked. Again, there was no response. He threw up his hands in annoyance and began to pace the room. The footsteps continued, soon joined by other noises that Bendy couldn't name.

 _Who is that?_ He wondered, occasionally looking towards the door. The sound of something metal reached him; a soft chink as it was laid upon a surface. Bendy stopped. He hadn't seen many metal objects in the studio so far, apart from the projectors and a couple of pens. So what was it? Bendy absent-mindedly kicked at an ink puddle on the ground, splattering his shiny black shoes with glistening splatters, concentrating. He tried to hear more noises, but the footsteps had resumed, penetrating the silence. Bendy sighed and sat down, leaning back against the wall. His usual wide, toothy grin was turned in a frown and his eyes were drooping with boredom. He decided to focus on the candle, watching the orange flame flicker and dance. A small circle of light spread from it; the dull wooden walls appeared golden in its light.

Suddenly, light flooded underneath the door. It brightened the room immediately, making the candle weak in comparison. Bendy leapt up. He bounced over to the door and knocked again. This time, there was a response.

"Just stay in there, Bendy," a voice whispered through the crack in the side of the door. The devil pressed his face up against the door, trying to see the speaker.

"Who is that?" he asked, staring intently. He could only see the wooden wall on the other side of the door. A flicker of movement passed the door; there was someone out in the hall. Bendy could just make out a familiar face. "Joey!" he cried, feeling relieved. "Can you please unlock the door?" Joey ignored him, walking away. It was then that Bendy saw a glint in his hand; the light glancing off of a slim, silver blade.

Bendy backed away from the door, shocked at seeing a knife in his creator's hand. A feeling of uneasiness was starting to build up inside him. He heard stirring in the next room, mixed with the clinking of chains. There were hurried footsteps, and a muffled groan. A _familiar_ groan. Bendy ran to the door, his grin returning.

"Boris!" he called happily. There was silence for a moment.

"Bendy! Are you okay?" Boris's voice returned. Bendy sighed in relief – Boris was close by.

"I'm fine," Bendy replied. He jiggled the doorknob, then called out again, "Can you open this door for me? It's locked."

"I can't – I'm tied down–" Boris was abruptly cut off. There was a soft whisper, and silence. Bendy frowned and knocked on the door.

"Hello? Boris? Joey? What's going on?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Joey called back casually. But Bendy could tell by the edge to his voice that he was lying. He heard Boris and Joey's voices, muffled by the wall.

Boris's voice began to rise slightly, edged with fear, but Joey hushed him until he went quiet again. Bendy began to knock on the door again, his suspicion turning to worry. The silence was punctured by the sound of metal. With a jolt, the memory of the knife returned to Bendy. Gasping in horror, he reached out to the doorknob, twisting it and pulling with all his might. Still, the door remained tightly closed. It was then that Bendy realised that the door had been locked from the outside. He curled his gloved hands into fists and began to hammer on the door.

"Boris, get over here! Something's going on," Bendy yelled, panic creeping into his voice. The sound of chains thrashing against a surface echoed down the empty hall, into the small room.

"I can't!" Boris's voice yelled back after the clanking had stopped, "I already told you, I'm all chained down – Joey?" the wolf's voice went quiet.

Bendy stopped his hammering to listen.

"Be calm, Boris, everything's going to turn out fine," Joey's voice said, calm and soothing. His voice quietened, turning cruel with a hint of excitement. "For me, anyway."

Everything began to fit together in Bendy's mind. Him being locked in this room; Boris chained down somewhere, unable to escape, and most of all, the knife in Joey's hand. He felt a rush of terror for Boris, which was quickly replaced by rage.

"Joey! What the heck are you up to?!" Bendy shook his head and knocked urgently on the door. "Open this door right now!" he screamed, eyes widening with panic. The doorframe creaked as he knocked, and the ink began to drip faster. Slow, deliberate footsteps came from the next room.

"Back off!" snarled Boris's voice. Then there was the soft _shing_ of metal again. Boris's voice came again, louder and panicky, "Joey, put it down! Put that knife down!" Bendy stopped his bashing and ran to the other side of the room. Quickly straightening his bowtie, he dashed forward and hurled his shoulder against the door. It shook with a bang like thunder. The candle's flame flickered about as the floor shook it stood on. Meanwhile, Boris's cries got louder and more pleading, his voice getting more hysterical.

"Stop it, you naughty little devil, you'll break the door down," Joey's voice called distractedly. Then Bendy heard slow and deliberate footsteps, walking forwards. Boris's voice rose to an unusually high pitch for his normally low voice. _That's exactly what I want to do,_ Bendy thought, ignoring him and backing away again. He sized up the room, preparing himself again for another impact.

"Hang on, Boris, I'm coming!" Bendy bellowed. He rammed himself into the door again. The room in which Bendy was trapped in began to feel smaller, until he could no longer bear it. The footsteps stopped. Bendy's breath caught painfully in his throat.

Then Boris began to scream. His agonized shrieks reverberated in the small room, accompanied by the ghastly noise of a blade ripping into flesh. Bendy flung himself at the door, ramming his horns against it and trying to pry the door open, but his attempts were in vain. Looking around frantically for something to help, he grabbed the chair and hurled it at the door. One of the chair's legs broke off with a crack. Bendy seized it off the floor and flung it in the door's direction, the whole time desperately screeching Boris's name.

"Boris! BORIS!" he screamed. There was a choking noise, accompanied by the sound of something dripping onto the floor. And it wasn't ink.

"B-Bendy," Boris called, in a voice choked with agony. "Help! Please-" he was cut off, gasping, as once again, the knife plunged into his flesh. Screaming filled Bendy's head, until there was nothing left. An image flashed briefly into his mind; the knife, glinting in Joey's hand. That knife was the same one inflicting unimaginable pain upon Boris. At this moment, a hatred so powerful coursed through Bendy; hatred for the man who had brought them to life. He pictured Joey's face, with a small, friendly smile, then reimagined it – splattered with blood, eyes wild, arm raising to inflict more terrible wounds –

"Boris!" Bendy called. He could feel tears starting to well in his eyes, but he relentlessly attacked the door. The snap of bone broke through the thunderous banging on the wall. The screams got louder, punctuated by slicing noises, and more snapping. Bendy began to cry, dropping the chair leg and kicking with all his might. "I'm coming!" he sobbed, "I'll save you, Boris!"

There was a hacking noise, and an ear-splitting screech made Bendy stop. The splattering of inky blood spraying the wall pattered like rain on the wall. There was a soft squelching, and the sound of more tearing flesh that made Bendy gag.

"Bendy!" Boris gasped. His voice was tight and hoarse.

"It's okay," Bendy yelled. He brushed away the tears on his cheeks, summoning up all his remaining strength and hurled himself against the door one last time. The bang echoed throughout the halls, making a loose board on the ceiling fall to the ground with a clatter. The flame on the candle died with a soft hiss, and the room dimmed.

The sound of the knife plunging into flesh came again, but there was no scream. Only a soft, weak moan that gurgled in Boris's throat. Bendy slid down against the door, burying his face in his hands.

"Hang in there," he called, slightly muffled, looking up at the doorknob. Something warm began to flow from underneath the door, pooling around Bendy's feet. He looked down and with a jolt of horror he realised that the dark liquid was his best friend's blood.

"Stay away from Joey, Bendy," Boris pleaded in a strangled voice. "Stay the hell away from him, he'll only hurt you. He'll ki-" there was a wheezy gasp as the sound of a knife puncturing flesh cut the wolf short. Then there was silence.

"Can you hear me, Boris?" Bendy said weakly. He stood up on trembling legs, feeling sickened as the blood dripped off his hands onto the floor. There was no sound, apart from the sound of ink and blood dripping onto the ground. Bendy pressed his palms against the door. "Come on," he pleaded, grief choking him as he tried to speak. "If – if this is a joke, it's not funny!" Still, there was no reply. Bendy waited, pressing his head against the door. "Boris?" he whispered. But deep down, the devil knew that Boris was gone.

"Well, Boris, you and I certainly _did_ have fun tonight."

That was Joey's voice, surprisingly calm and quiet. Bendy's heart stood still.

Laughter began to come from the room. Not Boris's familiar, hearty chuckles. This laughter was cold. Joey's laughter.

At that moment, something inside Bendy snapped. He began to tremble, his normally cheerful expression changing to one of pure rage. The laughter rang inside his head. Bendy clenched his fists. _You tortured him, and you find it_ funny _?_ he thought. _You are a madman._

"JOEY!" He shrieked. He threw himself at the door again, rage coursing through his body. "YOU TORTURED BORIS. YOU TORTURED MY BEST FRIEND!" Bendy tore off his glossy white gloves, flexing the clawed fingers underneath. He slashed at the door, not caring about the stabbing pains in his hands as splinters of wood dug into them. Bendy felt savage satisfaction as he saw the deep gouges they left behind. "AND THAT'S NOT ALL. YOU _MURDERED_ HIM. I'LL MURDER _YOU!_ " he bellowed.

Joey's laughter had died down. Soft footsteps told Bendy that Joey was right outside the door. Heart thumping with adrenaline and rage, Bendy saw something dark and round appear in the crack between the door and the wall. It was Joey's eye, a manic glint making it visible in the shadows. Bendy glared into it, panting.

"I hate you," he hissed, trembling all over. "I hate you with all my heart."

The eye blinked indifferently, not breaking contact with Bendy's resentful gaze.

"Goodnight, Bendy," Joey whispered, "Sweet dreams." Then the eye disappeared. There were footsteps and whistling, soon joined by the soft squelching of a mop sliding across the ground. The light turned off, plunging the workshop into total darkness. Then there was the creak of a door closing. Then silence.

Bendy sank to his knees into the pool of still-warm blood. Boris's screams still resonated inside his head. He picked up his gloves, sliding them slowly over the inky claws and picking out a splinter of wood. Without the candle, the room was as black as the ink Bendy was made of. The darkness of the workshop seemed to cloud his mind, darkening it until the screams were as clear as if the knife was still plunging into the wolf's chest. He clapped his hands over his horns, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

 _Why would he do this?_ Bendy thought. He imagined the laughter, and powerful hatred surged through him, making him shake. _No matter WHAT his intentions were, I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him._ With that, he lay down on the floor and eventually fell asleep to the soft sound of blood dripping on to the wood.

 **Thanks to Ariel-Mystic-Siren for reviewing.**


	3. Chapter 3

_The door to the workshop creaked open, casting a small path of light on the floor. Joey poked his head through the doorway, looking from side to side, then stepped inside. The air was heavily scented with dust and ink, intermingled with the faint smell of blood. Joey smiled to himself, thinking back to the previous night; the silver knife as it ripped a hole in his creation's chest; the desperate screams coming from the next room, and the blood as it flowed, hot and thick, onto his hands. He made his way down the deserted hallways, coming to a stop besides two doors. One was locked tightly shut; from inside the room, the faint noise of someone breathing could be heard. Joey smiled._

 _"So you managed to fall asleep, Bendy?" he whispered, treading quietly as to not to wake the sleeping cartoon devil. He stopped at the door next to it. Joey grabbed the knob on the door, pulling it open and looking at what the room's contents. His smile broadened. He walked into the room, and picked up a knife on sitting on a chair. He ran his fingers over the blade, the dried blood roughening the otherwise smooth surface, then tucked it into his pocket, strolling out of the room. At the doorway, he paused, looking over his shoulder._

 _"See you, Boris," he said, eyes flickering over the massive wound in the cartoon wolf's chest before walking out of the room. He walked down the hall and entered a large room. Sitting in the centre, a massive machine stood, ink dripping slowly from a tube coming attached to it. Joey pulled a picture of all his characters out of his pocket, looking over them all. He looked at the Bendy in the picture and gleefully thought of the living, breathing counterpart – whom he had brought to life! – currently sleeping in another room, and Boris, only the picture version's chest was unharmed. One more character remained; an angel, waving cheerfully up at him._

 _"Let's bring the band back together again," Joey said to himself. He grasped a long silver lever firmly in his hand, and pulled._

 _Clunk, clunk, clunk._

The loud noises wove their way into Bendy's head. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. His sleep had been far from peaceful. The previous night was still fresh in his mind. Bendy choked back grief as Boris's tortured screams rang in his head. He reached up to wipe his eyes, and noticed dark, unsightly patches on his gloves. With a yelp, Bendy sat up. He had fallen asleep in the dark pool of blood on the floor. He stared at the stains on his gloves, trying to hold back the inky tears that had begun to flow down his cheeks.

 _Clunk, clunk._

The sound came again, even louder than before. The pipes on the ceiling shook slightly as dark ink surged through them, towards the clunking. Bendy frowned. _Is that the Ink Machine?_ He pondered. There was one final clunk. That was definitely a familiar sound.

Then he heard some voices, muffled by the walls; one, a vaguely familiar female voice, the other, one Bendy recognized too easily.

"Joey," he hissed to himself, rage and hatred making him shake. He pressed himself against the door to listen, vainly trying to make out words. Then he heard footsteps; two pairs, walking in the opposite direction. Bendy groaned and began to walk slowly around the room, resuming the pacing he had done the night before. Only this time, there were no heart-breaking screams of agony coming from the next room…

Bendy stopped walking and wiped his eyes, trying not to think of Boris. Poor Boris, his closest friend, the cheerful wolf with the overalls and the shiny black clarinet, probably mutilated by some fatal wound inflicted on him the previous night…

The footsteps grew louder, sounding like they were heading in the direction of the room. Bendy lunged forward, tugging on the doorknob. It was as stubborn as it had been before, not budging in the slightest. He crossed his arms and leaned against the door. Joey and his companion were talking; their voices slowly got clearer, and soon Bendy could make out some of their words.

"-back there would be Henry's old desk-" That was Joey's voice. _Who's Henry?_ Bendy thought for a moment, then shook his head, continuing to listen.

"-many people working here-" _That_ was the female voice. Bendy continued to listen, not making a sound. As he did, the sensation of familiarity stirred in the back of his mind. He knew he had heard this female's voice sometime before.

"Stay here. I need to show you something," said Joey's voice from right outside the door.

"Sure," the female voice replied. There was the sound of a single pair of feet walking away, echoing on the old wooden floor. Bendy listened as the female's voice began to hum in a soft, angelic voice.

"Hello?" he called tentatively, trying to see through the crack between the door and the wall. The female outside gasped, and he caught a glimpse of black and white.

"Bendy? Is that you?" the female voice asked, sounding surprised and delighted. And suddenly, Bendy recognised the voice.

"Alice!" he called, his face breaking into a smile. "Yeah, it's me. Can you open the door? It's locked."

The handle twisted to the side, then there was a click and the door swung open with a creak. From the hallway outside, a cartoon angel peered inside, her halo glowing gently. Her face, framed by her long black hair, broke in to a grin as soon as she saw Bendy.

"Bendy! You're here too!" she cried, leaning forward to hug him. Bendy wrapped his arms around her in turn, warm relief flooding through him.

"I'm so glad to see you," he said happily, looking up at the angel. Alice nodded in agreement, then her smile turned into a frown. Her eyes moved over to the tear tracks on Bendy's face.

"Have you been crying?" she asked, concern evident on her face. Her eyes widened as they moved over the dark patches standing out against the white of his gloves and bowtie. "Is – is that _blood?_ "

Bendy suddenly remembered Joey's voice, telling Alice to stay where she was. He felt a rush of fear; did Joey have something _planned_ for Alice? Would she share a fate similar to Boris's? Bendy grabbed her hand, trying to lead her away.

"C'mon, Alice, we need to go," he said urgently. Alice pulled her hand away, annoyed.

"Why?" she said, "Joey told me to wait here. It'd be rude to just leave." Bendy shook his head impatiently and began to pace in front of her. Didn't she know? Of course, Joey wouldn't've told her about his – Bendy winced – _fun_ , to keep her trusting him. A flash of hatred and worry made Bendy grab Alice's hand again, desperate to lead her out of harm's way. She slipped it out of his grip again, sighing with exasperation.

"NO, Bendy!" she put her hands on her hips. "At least Boris isn't this pushy."

Alice suddenly looked up. "Where _is_ Boris?" she asked, staring over Bendy's horns as if the wolf was going to trot around the corner any moment. Bendy's head drooped.

"He's not here, and never will be again," he whispered, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes again. Then he remembered; the footsteps, the screams, they had all come from the room next to the one that he had spent the night in. Bendy whipped around. Next to the room where he had been trapped, there was a door, closed tightly shut. Boris's lifeless body lay in there… Alice, spying Bendy's wet eyes, lay her hand on Bendy's shoulder. She opened her mouth to say something, but someone else spoke before she had the chance to.

"Well, Bendy, finally decided to join us, have you?"

Alice met eyes with someone behind Bendy. He swivelled on his feet to see a figure standing in the hall. He stopped, standing dead still as his gaze locked with his creator's.

"Hi Joey!" Alice chirped, lifting her hand off Bendy's shoulder to wave. Bendy tightly clenched his fists, taking deep breaths in.

"H-hello," Bendy managed to hiss, starting to tremble. Joey's gaze didn't flinch from Bendy's; his eyes portrayed no emotion, though his smile did. _You look very calm,_ Bendy thought, _for someone who committed_ murder _last night…_

"Hey, Joey, what was it you wanted to show me?" Alice asked, casting Bendy a scolding look.

"Oh yeah," Joey said, and Bendy noticed his smile falter. Joey's arm moved slightly behind his back. _What is it?_ Bendy thought, frowning. He peered closely at Joey's hand and saw that the fingers were tightened around a smooth, wooden handle. Suddenly Bendy realised that Joey was watching him, and quickly resumed his glaring. Joey cleared his throat, looking at Alice.

"I've got it with me now," he said, but turned his attention to Bendy. "Look who woke up!" He walked over confidently, still keeping one arm behind his back. Once he got to them, he laid a hand on Bendy's shoulder. Bendy stiffened, wincing at his creator's touch. Joey paid no attention. "I trust you had a good night's sleep?" he asked smugly. White-hot rage flared up inside Bendy.

"Get your mitts off of me!" he spat, swatting Joey's hand away with every bit of strength and contempte he could muster.

"Bendy!" Alice gasped, "That was incredibly _rude!_ " Bendy paid no attention to her, watching Joey through narrowed eyes. His fingers twitched, aching to wrap themselves around Joey's neck. Joey was rubbing his arm, shaking his head.

"You always were pretty quarrelsome, Bendy," he sighed. Alice walked over to him, looking anxiously at Joey's arm. She looked Bendy angrily, lips pursed.

"Get away from him, Alice!" Bendy cried, lunging to pull her away, "You can't trust this man!"

"Of course I can," Alice sighed, crossing her arms and glaring disapprovingly at Bendy. Her elbow nudged Joey's arm as she did, and Bendy saw a sliver of silver move behind Joey's legs. He gasped as he made out a curved blade, sharp as the knife that had ended Boris's life.

"Then why is he carrying an axe?" he queried, pointing. Joey took a sharp intake of breath. Alice followed the direction Bendy's finger pointed in, eyes widening as she saw the axe that Joey had been hiding behind his back.

"Oh – um, that's nothing," Joey stammered, showing nervousness for the first time that day. Bendy grinned in savage satisfaction as Alice took a step away from Joey.

"What's that axe for?" she snapped, glaring suspiciously at him.

"You cannot trust him," Bendy repeated angrily.

"No, you can!" Joey said, dropping the axe to prove his point. It fell to the floor, the metal blade clattering loudly on the dusty wood.

"Oh?" Bendy said softly. He glanced around, trying to think of something to say. His eyes landed on the door next to the room he had spent the night in. Seized with a sudden urgency, he lunged forward, grasping the handle tightly. Joey went still, eyeing Bendy cautiously. "So you wouldn't mind if I showed Alice what's in this room?"

"What – I don't see why – not really a reason to–" Joey muttered. His eyes were wide and steadily growing more nervous, flickering between the door, to Alice, who was looking more and more confused, and Bendy's furious face.

"Are you saying we can't trust you to not have something _bad_ in here?" Bendy said smoothly, enjoying the look of horror that was spreading over Joey's face.

"What's going on?" Alice yelled, glaring at them both. Bendy ignored her. He took a threatening step closer to Joey, shaking with rage.

"Boris is in there, isn't he?!" Bendy yelled. His hand gripped the doorknob tighter, and grief made him begin to shake. "And you have done something horrible to him!" He blinked as tears began to well up again. "You've – you've _killed_ him!"

"What are you talking about?" Joey cried desperately.

"Boris? Killed?" Alice spluttered, shaking her head, "That's ridiculous, Bendy. Can't we go in and see him?" she asked, turning to Joey.

"NO!" he yelled, a little to hastily. Alice narrowed her eyes, looking from the axe on the ground to Joey's nervous face.

"Look, I have no idea what's going on here, but you're acting pretty suspicious!" she snapped at him. Alice twirled around and trotted over to Bendy, her hair bouncing as she went. "Open the door, Bendy," she declared. Bendy glanced up at her. His mind backtracked; it would take a long time, possibly forever, to forget the tortured screams and the sound of the knife digging into Boris's flesh. Suddenly, the thought of seeing his best friend's corpse seemed too much to bear. Bendy's eyes started to get wetter, and he hesitated.

"I – I don't know…" he murmured, trying to keep the images that were forming out of his mind.

"Open the door _now_ , Bendy!" she said forcefully.

"No!" Joey yelled again. He lunged at Bendy, grabbing his arm and pulling it away from the door. Bendy stiffened with rage, then shook his arm, loosening Joey's grip.

"Get OFF!" he roared. Joey stood there, panting. His eyes met with Bendy's; they were filled with fear. Bendy balled his hand into a fist, drawing his arm back. His fist flew forwards, connecting with Joey's side with a force that sent him stumbling backwards. Joey fell to the ground, gasping in pain and clutching at his side. Bendy watched him, loathing surging through him like ink surging through the pipes along the walls.

"I am going to open this door, Joey, and we'll see what you've done" he hissed, tightening his grip on the doorknob.

"Don't!" Joey yelled, struggling to his feet as fast as he could.

"Quiet, you!" Alice snapped. Bendy took a deep breath in, closed his eyes, twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

Behind him, Alice and Joey's cries became hushed as the door swung open, creaking gently. Bendy slowly walked inside, gingerly opening his eyes to look at the room's contents. His eyes landed first on the few splatters of dried blood staining the floor, then on the candles, which still burnt on tiny wax stubs.

Then on to the gaping wound in Boris's chest.

 **Thanks again to Ariel-Mystic-Siren, and also to Winter's Writing for reviewing.**


	4. Chapter 4

Boris's head hung down limply, his ears drooping slightly to one side. He was bound to a flat, wooden surgery table by huge metal rings clamped around his wrists and ankles. One of the straps on his overalls was undone, and dark, inky blood had trickled down his front. His exposed ribs curved like cat claws over a ragged whole in his chest where his heart and lungs should've been. The wolf's eyes were in the shape of an 'X', proving that he was dead.

Behind Bendy, Alice let out a gasp of horror, and Joey cursed under his breath. But the devil was deaf to both of them; he couldn't tear his eyes away from Boris's mangled corpse, though his mind was screaming for him to do so. The sickening sounds of the knife tearing in to flesh and the snap of breaking bones came back fresh in his memories; Boris, his best and closest friend in the world, had been cruelly murdered. Bendy managed to squeeze his eyes shut, but the terrible image was burned in his mind.

"What happened?" Alice whispered. Her voice was quiet and choked up; her eyes had already begun to glisten with tears. Bendy took a small step closer to Boris, looking up at his friend's face. Brief memories began to flash through his mind; the wolf's smile as he saw Bendy in the doorway to the Ink Machine room; him playfully teasing an indignant Bendy; the two following Joey along the hall, side by side. And now, his best friend lay lifeless, trapped and mutilated horribly.

"I'm sorry!" he cried, sinking dramatically to his knees and wrapping his arms around Boris's legs, letting tears flow out of his eyes. He lay there, sobbing, into Boris's overall pants, completely oblivious to everything around him. All he could feel was grief and love for the dead wolf; nothing else mattered to him at this moment. Bendy looked up at the white of Boris's ribs, standing out against his inky black chest.

"Oh, Boris, what has he done to you?" he asked, his voice catching in his throat. His shaking arms tightened around Boris's legs. Bendy heard someone coming up besides him, and felt someone lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned his head around to see Alice crouching besides him, her cheeks streaked with tears. Her eyes were fixed up on Boris, too. Bendy burst into a fresh round of sobs and buried his head again into Boris's pants, slightly muffling him.

"Who did this?" Alice said quietly after a while, wiping a tear off of Bendy's cheek. Bendy took a couple of deep breaths, clenching his trembling fists in a vain attempt to calm down.

"Joey," he said in a low voice. "Yesterday, before you were here, he led Boris and I into a room, and told us he was going to show us something. He told us to wait for him there." Alice furrowed her brow, thinking, and Bendy remembered Joey had said those same words to her.

"We waited, just like he said, but then we were knocked unconscious – I'm pretty sure it was Joey who did it – and I woke up, locked in that room you found me in," Bendy continued, voice beginning to shake. _Calm down, Bendy,_ he told himself firmly. "I heard Boris and Joey in this room. Boris started to – to scream, and I tried to get out and save him, but…" his voice trailed off into a whimper. "But now he's – he's–" Bendy struggled to choke out the last word. "–Dead…" Bendy blinked the inky tears out of his eyes and looked up at Alice with anguish.

"Oh, Bendy…" Alice said, crouching down next to him, "I – I don't know what to say."

Suddenly, there was the loud noise of someone walking down the hallway outside – someone who didn't care if they were heard. Alice looked up sharply, watching, her hand still sitting on Bendy's shoulder. A man strolled casually past the doorway, whistling as he went and glancing in to the room as he passed. The man stopped dead, taking a step backwards. His eyes widened as they flickered from Bendy and Alice, kneeling on the floor, to Boris's lifeless body behind them. His mouth gaped open before he closed it quickly.

"Um, what's going on?" the man said uncertainly, still eyeing the three cartoons with shock. Bendy glared at the man, who looked back worriedly.

"Go away," he snapped, shuffling himself protectively in front of Boris and watching the man with an intense gaze. Alice, though tears streamed down her face as well, gave an exasperated sigh and got to her feet, facing the man. He tore his gaze off of Bendy and stared at her instead.

"Do you know who Joey Drew is?" she asked him carefully. The man nodded slowly, not taking his nervous eyes off Alice.

"Uh, yeah, he's in charge here," the man replied. Another man suddenly walked over to stand behind him, looking tired and annoyed. He prodded the first man on the shoulder.

"C'mon, we've got to get to work or Joey will get annoyed – Oh my god!" the second man gasped as he caught sight of Alice standing there in the room. Bendy glared apprehensively at him as their eyes met. Finally, the second man looked over at Boris. His face paled as he eyed the huge wound on the cartoon wolf's chest. "What the heck happened here?" he whispered finally.

"It was Joey," Bendy muttered shakily, getting to his feet. The men's eyes quickly swivelled to him. "I don't have a clue why _anyone_ would do something like this." He looked away from Boris, wiping his face clean. His gloves were slightly damp and the white surfaces were stained with dark patches of Boris's blood. Bendy took a deep breath, trying to calm himself to no avail.

"Wow…" the second man whispered. He looked at his companion, then back to Bendy and Alice. "I mean, we've always thought that Joey was a bit of a weirdo, but, this is…" he trailed off, gulping as he looked over Boris's exposed ribcage.

"Not what we'd have expected," the first man finished softly. He glanced over his shoulder as footsteps sounded along the hall and faded off again. "Sounds like everyone else is turning up."

Suddenly, Bendy noticed the sounds of people moving around in the workshop signifying that the work day had officially started; what had previously been eerie silence was now filled with the sounds of people moving around and the dull murmur of many voices speaking to each other. Bendy listened to the buzz of activity.

"How many people work here?" he asked, more to himself than to the men.

"No idea, really," the first man replied. He looked once more at Boris's limp body, looking disgusted. "Well, we've got to get to work," he said, backing out of the room. He cast a meaningful glance at the second man, looking as though he wanted absolutely nothing to do with this. "Come on, didn't we say we'd help Wally look for his keys before Sammy found out?" The second man opened his mouth, looking confused for a moment, before the first man grabbed his arm and pulled him hurriedly out of the room. The second man cast a brief, sympathetic glance at Bendy and Alice before disappearing out of sight completely.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Alice called after them. She watched them go, looking crestfallen. She sighed and turned back to Bendy. "What are we supposed to do now?" she asked hopelessly, her hair moving slightly as she shook her head.

"I don't know," Bendy replied, looking down the doorway where the men had left. He looked at a wooden plank in the wall absent-mindedly, before noticing something; the doorway was empty. Joey was gone.

"Where is he?" Bendy yelled, running to the door and frantically looking around. His creator was nowhere to be seen. _Coward!_ Bendy thought, _he must've sneaked off while we were distracted!_

"Who are you talking about?" Alice asked. She looked over to where Bendy was looking, and narrowed her eyes in anger.

"He thinks he can sneak away?" Bendy hissed, white-hot rage surging through his body. He clenched his fists. "He thinks he can _murder_ my best friend, and just leave?" Tears began to well up in his eyes again, but this time they were from rage as well as grief.

"Where would he have gone, though?" Alice asked. Bendy began to pace, his mind churning turbulently as he tried to think where Joey might've run off to. He stopped and snapped his fingers as realisation dawned over him.

"The Ink Machine!" he cried. "Joey made that thing; I bet that's where he'd be right now." Alice nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, I'm going to go look for him," he muttered to Alice, dashing to the doorway, "Stay here." Alice opened her mouth to reply, but Bendy swivelled around and ran down the hallway before she could. His footsteps mingled with the sounds of the workshop, one pair of feet joined by many others. The sound of many conversations going on at once created a soft murmuring noise, making the workshop seem less empty. He skidded around a corner, glaring around. _C'mon, where are you, Joey?_ he thought angrily. In the hall, two men were walking along, their backs to him.

"I can't believe we have to fix that darn machine _again,_ " one man was saying. At the mention of the Ink Machine, Bendy stopped to listen.

"I know," the other man sighed. "Why Joey thinks we need it, I have no idea – hey, where're you going? The Ink Machine's that way," he said, jerking his head to the side. Bendy looked hopefully in the direction the man had indicated.

"Oh, I know, I've just gotta grab my wrench," the first man said. They passed out of sight. Bendy grinned in satisfaction. _Thanks for the pointer, you two,_ he thought. He started off towards the Ink Machine through a hall lined with posters. As he walked, a poster caught his eyes; Bendy sighed in grief as Boris's familiar face stared out at him from the paper. He thought back to the previous day, when he had stood in the Ink Machine room with Joey, asking excitedly if any of his friends could be brought to life too. Joey had given Boris life, all right, but only to brutally end it later. Bendy stared sadly at it, trembling with suppressed tears.

"I _will_ make sure he gets what's coming to him. I promise, Boris," he muttered solemnly to the poster. He began to walk down the hall again, listening out for anything that might give him another shove in the right direction towards the Ink Machine room. Towards Joey. Bendy clenched his fists as rage once again surged through him. _Calm down, Bendy,_ he said to himself, _You'll find him eventually_. The babble of conversation rose as he passed a half-open door. Bendy slipped past it like a shadow, shaking his head with annoyance. _How am I supposed to hear ANYTHING with all this noise?_ he thought frustratedly.

"–pass me that inkwell, please?"

"–you lost your damn keys AGAIN, Wally?"

"They just disappeared into thin air–"

"Can you run up the hall to grab my pencil from the Ink Machine room?"

Bendy grinned again at the last comment. A small map of the workshop was coming together in his mind. He swerved around the corner and looked down a vaguely familiar hallway. At the end of the hall, there was a wide doorway. The words 'INK MACHINE' were splashed in bold black ink on a sign above the doorframe, and inside the room, the familiar bulk of the Ink Machine sat, its cogs grinding slowly. And next to the Machine, a figure was moving around the room. Bendy stopped, staring down the hall. The figure in the room straightened up stiffly, eyes widening in horror as he saw the little devil standing at the other end of the hall. Bendy's gaze locked with the Joey's and he flexed his fingers menacingly, grinning with savage satisfaction.

"Found you!" he called, bolting down the hall. Joey immediately ducked out of sight. _What a coward,_ Bendy thought spitefully. Skidding to a stop at the doorway, he glanced around. Joey was nowhere to be seen.

"Where are you, Joey?" Bendy asked playfully, stepping quietly into the room. There was no reply. Bendy peered behind a cabinet, grinning with satisfaction, but Joey wasn't there. His smile faded and he huffed with frustration. Bendy straightened up and placed his hands on his hips, listening out for Joey. There – the sound of someone breathing unevenly from behind the Ink Machine. Bendy tip-toed towards the noise, trying not to make any noise. He placed his hands on the edge of the machine, peeking slowly around the side. His eyes found Joey, pressed against the side of the Machine. Joey went still as he caught sight of Bendy looking at him.

"Hello," Joey mumbled, swiftly averting his eyes from the angry devil. Bendy stepped out in front of Joey. He glared down at him, grinning demonically. _Nowhere to run,_ he thought.

"Well hey there, Joey!" Bendy said.

 **Thanks to Cato Winter, GoldenJubilee, Dancing-Ink-Demon, Winter's Writing and Talevideo271 for reviewing, following and favouriting this story; it means a lot to me. Also, sorry for the delay in this chapter's arrival.**


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